Five Earths - Timeline (2014 March)
This is the timeline of the Five Earths, All in a Row setting, March 2014. (1942 on Earth-2, 1880 on Earth-3, 1557 on Earth-4, and 516 CE/1269 AUC on Earth-5) <-2014 February; 2014 April-> March 2 President Barack Obama, aboard Space Force One (escorted by a pair of SB-52s), becomes the first Head of State in space, and the first to enter the International Space Station. Not long thereafter, Vladymir Putin arrives on the ISS, using a Soyuz capsule with a large 'Executive Module' replacing the usual Orbital Module, and two Soyuz with 'Combat Modules' replacing their OMs. Queen Elizabeth II arrives on a Victor*, and José Manuel Barroso on a Dassault Falcon 7XS, escorted by one Nimrod and two Vulcan*s. Dsp-UK ends production of the PIAT gun, now that enough RPG-7s are in production. March 3 In the morning (ISS time), the Heads of State and their escorts leave for Luna(1). The Parata-Ellis-Weisenbaum Pumped Electron, or PEW-PEW gun, is developed at the University of Auckland, Inp-New Zealand. The weapon uses surprisingly little magic, though the manufacturing process takes rather more. In Inp-USA, the 9th Marine Aircraft Wing is reactivated. On Venus-2, the Ssoranthhuul Ambassador to the Cytherean Court finally receives an answer about the raider that left Earth-1 on Feburary 14. The Imperatrix acknowledges the mission as an official military action in support of the Cytherean Medical Council, and states that the Earthmen who were taken are not prisoners or hostages, but 'legitimately acquired slaves, now educated as to their proper place in society.' At the ambassador's prompting, the Imperatrix transmits this information in German to Earth-2, and the message is relayed to the other Earths. In Stp-Austria, Alois & Klara Hitler are found dead in their home of an apparent double suicide. The note they left says that this was done for the good of the Empire. March 4 On Earth-1, the NATO and CSTO nations (after conferring by secure radio with their Heads of state, in the cases of the USA, UK, and Russia) declare war against Dsp-Venus/Venus-2. On Luna(1), the Heads of State constellation lands. The Inp-US, Inp-EU, and Inp-Russian mining stations are officially activated. In orbit of Luna(1), the USSF and RAF begin work on Project Formidable, an orbital station to aid in the construction of large spacecraft, primarily designs derived from the X-57 Grissom (see Oct. 14 and Feb. 6), but lacking the repurposed shuttle tanks. Dsp-Chinese invasion of Dsp-French Indochina begins. In Dsp-USA, the new All-American Girls Professional Baseball League begins spring training. March 5 Gwendolyne Louise 'Gwenny-Lou' Sabuki and David Mitchell are kidnapped by Agent Axis. In the process of trying to escape, the two gain powers, and become Golden Girl and the Human Top, respectively. In Clp-London, Public Health Act 1557 is granted Royal Assent. This Act requires the creation in London of a sewer system designed by a civil engineer from Stp-Britain. It also requires chirurgeons to own a working still, and to wash hands, instruments, and when possible that part of the patient's skin, in distilled spirits (usually 105 to 140 degrees of proof on the Clp-English scale (60% to 80% alcohol), and made from cheap beer), as soon as possible before performing surgery; thread & bandages should be washed by an assistant during surgery, so that they may be clean when applied to the patient. Adding the distillation to some wine or beer, and giving it to the patient to reduce pain, is recommended, but not required. March 6 A new propaganda film is released in Dsp-British cinemas, giving a fictionalized account of the rescue of more than a hundred Jews from Amsterdam last year (see March 6, 2013). The script is primarily written by Ian Fleming and Peter Cushing, but a number of those who participated, including Christopher Lee and Anne Frank, are given story credit. Many of those who participated star as themselves, including Mr. Lee and Miss Frank, while the older Sir Christopher Lee of Earth One acts as narrator. On Earth-1, the film becomes an instant classic: while some critics call the film a blatant money-grab (Sir Christopher mentions war bonds once, in a dignified manner), and the film makes no attempt to disguise its propagandic nature, the names involved and the performances given cement its place in many film libraries. In an interview, Miss Frank credits her acting to the fact that she only had to be herself, and had some of the greatest names in British cinema helping her, though she also comments that it will be nice to be known for something she did, rather than a book her counterpart on the Future Earth wrote, and her father's counterpart edited. March 7 Psychological and parapsychological examinations of the current Inp-Joker (see Feb. 26) determine that the 'Joker entity' is a spirit that possesses people having One Bad Day, who react with hysterical laughter; the spirit appears to need the host's death to move on to a new host. In Dsp-Japan, production of the Type 94 Nambu pistol is cancelled. Factories are ordered to retool for the Colt M1911A1, which Nambu Arms will produce under license as the Type 101 Colt-Nambu, and which will replace the Type 94 in Japanese service as units become available. Some ammunition factories are retooled for the .45 ACP round, though a great deal of ammo will be shipped in from Dsp-America. Dsp-Dearborn, Mich. Mayor Orville L. Hubbard declares his intention to run for Governor of Michigan(2). March 9 On Earth-1, an online symposium of the Society of Ether (empowered Mage the Ascension gamers with 'magick' based on the mostly-Retrotech Mad Scientist faction) takes place, with æther proponents from Earth-3 attending via radiotelegraphy. The primary focus of the symposium is the discussion of superfluid vacuum theory, its relationship to the luminiferous æther, and whether it can explain the existence of magick (the 'k' is important: it would be insufficiently pretentious, otherwise). On Dinosaur Island, Earth-2, an experimental robot nicknamed Joe is assigned to be field-tested by Cpl. Robert 'Mac' MacIntosh. March 10 On Earth-2, Kido Butai reaches the nearest Allied port - Dsp-Pearl Harbor - and puts in for repairs. In Dsp-London, Churchill has tea with Gahndi, wishing to discuss India's future. Neither is pleased by what the other has to say, and no compromise is reached. An intelligence report from Dsp-MI6 mentions the commendation of Hauptmann Hildegarde 'Baroness' von Richthofen (whom British intelligence lost track of following the Battle of Britain) for actions on Feb. 17th. In Aluros, on Luna(2), a group of reporters are given a tour of a Selenean long-range travel-sphere. One journalist asks about the size of the rooms and corridors, and is told that any vessel intended to make use of space-warping drives for long periods must have some fairly large, internal voids, for stability reasons; since the spaces will be there anyway, they tend to be used for crew comfort. In orbit of Earth-1, Yamato 's crew, noting the luxurious facilities compared to other vessels in Earth-1's space fleets, and recalling the spacecraft's namesake, affectionately nickname the vessel 'Hotel Yamato.' March 13 In Inp-Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq officially renames itself the Caliphate of Iraq and the Levant. Though 'Caliph' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi claims to be the Chosen of Allah, he does not show the sort of power that would be expected of such a person. In Dsp-USA, orders are cut to send the Inp-American SpecOps troops to Britain, and from there to Occupied France, along with Captain America, who is to observe them in action. Ethnic Lithuanians in the Stp-Vilna and Kovno Governorates of the Russian Empire declare independence, and their support of the Kingdom of Poland. March 15 Inp-Londoners awaken from a foggy night to find that, oddly enough, the Hackney Marshes (well, the parts not built up) are once again quite marshy, rather than being a wide area of common football pitches and such. In space, construction begins on solar-powered antimatter-production facilities in Near Earth(1) Orbit. The Caligula Club in Dsp-London is shut down by a group of British heroes including a youngish Cursitor Doom, the current Captain Cornwall (grandfather of the one depicted - more fit, and his costume has a more military cut, but it's in the same colours and pattern), and the current Black Knight (costume is mostly like Sir Percy of Scandia). A number of MP's and other (self-)important men are arrested in the raid. In Dsp-Washington, D.C., military personnel from Earth-1 testify before Earth-2 US Congress about women in the military. A number of reactionaries react to this, quite loudly, and Representative William Cizko (D-Mass.) makes his infamous 'Caesar, Beware the Ides of March' speech, claiming that this is a 'dangerous step toward the masculinization of the American Woman, and the breakdown of decent society.' * William Cizko and his creepy cousin Edgar are both very sexist, but in almost completely opposite ways: Edgar hates women, blames them for his own failures, and wants to see them all punished and enslaved for it (except for his late mother, whom he views as perfect). William is an annoying, quite patronizing, compassionate sexist; he tries to keep women in what he thinks is their place because he sincerely believes that getting too far out of it for too long would be bad for their physical and mental health, and if a woman disagrees with him on this, he doesn't blame her, he blames the person or culture that 'mislead' her. (Edgar once tried to force William to beat up William's sister for insulting Edgar; William resisted and threw Edgar out the window, instead. Neither has ever forgiven the other for that incident.) March 18 The Inp-US public becomes aware of a debate among the USSF and the Department of the Space Force about using 'Arm' for the formation currently called a 'Galaxy', and changing 'Numbered Space Force' to 'Numbered Galaxy'. In Dsp-Italy, the Ministry of Popular Culture broadcasts a series of radio interviews with Jews in the Italian Fascist party (the repeal of the Manifesto della razza being one of the first concessions agreed to in the peace negotiations; see June 14 and November 4, 2013), including some former communists. One notable comment was "Well, if a man is not a communist when he's twenty, he has no heart, but if he's not a fascist when he's thirty, he has no brain." March 19 In Stp-Britain, the glider-carrier HMS Lightning is commissioned, first Royal Navy vessel to have RADAR installed (though an unimpressive form of it, compared to that used on Earth-2, much less Earth-1). Joseph P. Kennedy is announced as ambassador to Inp-USA. He, his wife, and some of their children (most notably their daughter Rosemary) will travel with the Operation Pencil Sharpener constellation, though on a USRS long-range 'Executive Transport' rocket. In Inp-USA, the 13th MEU begins astronaut training. A USMC spokesman confirms that a fourth Marine Expeditionary Force is planned, as a dedicated Spaceborne MEF. Space Shuttle Discovery perform an orbital test of her disintegrators, working to clear the Kessler shell over Earth-1. Anaysis of the results suggests that the shell might be cleared in a few months, conservatively. March 21 In Inp-Italy, the region of Veneto holds a (nonbinding, but official) referendum on independence, with a significant majority voting 'Yes.' Captain America and the Inp-American SpecOps troops arrive in Dsp-Britain. In Dsp-Gotham City, an agent from Inp-USA encounters the local Joker, and then meets the Bat-Man. The agent gives the Bat a smartphone he brought with him, containing an extensive database on forensics and criminology. In Stp-USA, the United States Navy Space Service is established, much to the annoyance of the Army, and advocates of a purely civilian space program. March 24 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visit Stp-Heligoland. In a brief speech, Her Majesty promises that Britain will never abandon her responsibilities to the islanders, and reads an Act of Parliament granting Heligoland status much like the Channel Islands. This is not well-regarded in Prussia, nor in several states of the Holy Roman Empire, but is quite popular with the Heligolanders and Stp-British. In Dsp-London, Captain America goes to dinner with a woman named Peggy, who turns out to be Junior Commander Margaret Carter of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, seconded to the Special Operations Executive. He is rather surprised to learn that she will be inserted into Occupied France with the team, though she will not stay with them. March 27 Pope Leo X promulgates the papal bull Ad veram scientiam (The true science), distinguishing discoveries and inventions made by Catholics or verified by the Church, which he declares to be gifts from God (and thus signs of His favor on the scientist or inventor), from discoveries and inventions created by 'heathens and heretics' and not yet verified by the Church (a process that can take years to decades, giving the Church time to adjust doctrine if necessary - and to make investments), which may be temptations from the Devil. On Earth-2, the Inp-American SpecOps troops, along with Captain America and Junior Commander Carter, parachute into Dsp-Northern France at about one in the morning, local time. March 29 Inp-Emperor Akihito makes his first trip to space, during which he uses construction waldoes to affix chrysanthemum medallions to Yamato and Wakamiya. In Dsp-Washington, D.C., the United States Department of Extraordinary Operations is established under the Justice Department, and then immediately transferred to the War Department for the duration of WWII(2). Among other duties, the DEO will serve as the operating authority for the All-Star Squadron, replacing an ad hoc committee of military and intelligence personnel currently serving that function. Category:Timelines Category:Fanwork